WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The West Virginia Wesleyan baseball team’s struggles have continued at the RussMatt Invitational in Florida with losses to Minnesota Duluth (12-6) and Lewis University (34-3) on Sunday, Ashland (16-3) on Tuesday and Winona State (11-5) on Wednesday.
Sunday vs Minnesota Duluth
The Bobcats put three on the board in the first inning on a wild pitch and RBIs from Julio Aguilar and Thatcher Poteat. UMD answered in the bottom half of the first with a grand slam to take the lead.
The Bulldogs put five more runs on the board before the Bobcats scored three off of RBI singles from Dharyl Moon, Aguilar and Moon once again. Minn. Duluth put the game out of reach in the seventh and eighth inning, plating three runs and shutting down the Bobcat offense to win 12-6.
UMD was led by Thomas Hanson’s grand slam and 2 RBI performances from Sam Tanner and Ethan Cole. Isaac Benesh went six innings and gave up four earned runs on six hits with three strikeouts. Jalen Pascal came in relief, pitching three innings and giving up two earned runs on four hits.
Aguilar went 3-5 with 2 RBI to lead Wesleyan. Moon also had 2 RBI for the Bobcats. AJ Ventry was handed the loss after 2 1/3 innings of work, giving up nine runs (eight earned) on four hits and five walks. Austin Mann, Robbie Baker and Ethan Boisvert went 5.2 IP total, giving up three runs (one earned) on just four hits.
Sunday vs Lewis University
Lewis scored seven runs in the top of the first with a grand slam, two-run home run and a hit by pitch. The Flyers extended their early lead to 10-0 before Jack Tilton blasted a two-run home run to trim the deficit. LU plated seven unanswered until Devin Johnson brought Luke Burner home on a single.
The Flyers scored another 17 runs unanswered to close the Bobcats out in seven innings, 34-3.
Angelo Cantelo led the Lewis attack with a 5-6 performance, including a grand slam, double and 6 RBI. 13 total Flyers had a hit and 11 were able to get an RBI. Michael Sclafani got the win for LU with three innings of work. The bullpen pitched four innings on no-run relief to finish the game.
Jack Tilton finished with 2 RBI and Devin Johnson plated one run. Drew Evans took the loss after giving up seven earned runs on six hits. Seven total Bobcats pitched in the loss.
Tuesday vs Ashland
The Eagles came out in the top of the first swinging, scoring two early runs. Aguilar did as well, singling up the gut to score Jack Tilton to make it 2-1 after one inning. Ashland blew the game open, scoring seven straight runs before Cole Shearer and Moon both hit RBI singles to cut into the lead.
The two singles by Shearer and Moon would be the last of the Bobcat offense as Ashland held WVWC scoreless for the rest of the game and scored seven more runs to win 16-3 in seven innings.
Cam Miller had three RBI to lead the Eagles at the dish. Steve Essig, Cam Scott and Ryan Shimek all finished with two RBIs to aid the offense. John Essig was awarded the win after four innings of work, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits and striking out three. In three innings of relief, the bullpen gave up no runs and only two hits.
Shearer, Aguilar and Moon each knocked in one run each with Luke Burner going 2-3 as well. Broderick Rohrbaugh went five innings and was given the loss after surrendering 12 runs (11 earned) on 14 hits.
Wednesday vs Winona State
Both offenses were quiet in the 1st inning but Winona State’s bats exploded in the top of the 2nd, scoring six runs on four singles and a double. The Warriors scored another run in the 4th and two more in the 5th to make it 9-0 after five innings.
Dharyl Moon and Eddie Rueda picked up RBIs in the bottom of the 6th and Moon was also able to score on a passed ball to cut the Warriors lead to 9-3. WSU answered with a run in the 7th and 8th inning to keep the Bobcats at a distance. Julio Aguilar and Thatcher Poteat were able to plate two more runs for the Bobcats before Winona State recorded the final out to take the win, 11-5.
Derek Baumgartner and Ryland Wall both finished with 3 RBI to lead WSU. Four other Warriors had an RBI as well. Peter Tveite went six innings to pick up his first win of the season, giving up three runs (two earned) on eight hits and striking out seven.
WVWC had four different hitters get an RBI and Eddie Rueda had two of the 10 Bobcat hits. Anthony Hernandez went five innings and was handed the loss with a stat line of 11 H, 9 R, 3 ER, 1 BB and 1 HBP. The bullpen pitched four innings of relief and gave up two runs but neither were earned.
Up Next For The Bobcats
Wesleyan closes their trip to the RussMatt Invitational tomorrow (Thursday) at 9:30 a.m. against Wayne State College (Neb.).
